Egypt’s mufti condemns European clerics’ trip to Israel

Egypt’s mufti, Nazir Ayyad on July 10th denounced a trip to Israel by a group of European clerics, as reported by Middle East Monitor on July 11th.

He claimed they are “promoting themselves as religious figures”, and called it “a cheap political investment using fake clerical robes to beautify the image of a bloody occupying entity”.

Ayad firmly denounced the delegation’s trip in a strongly worded statement, coming just days after al-Azhar — Egypt’s top religious authority — also expressed its disapproval.

His remarks came after an announcement on July 7th from the office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who stated that he had welcomed “imams and leaders from the Muslim community in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and the United Kingdom” to his West Jerusalem office.

Herzog’s office noted that the group was led by Hassen Chalghoumi and was comprised of “prominent Muslim figures who came to Israel to promote a message of peace, coexistence and partnership between Muslims and Jews, and between Israel and the Islamic world.” 

In response, Egypt’s mufti issued a statement: “I have followed with deep regret this disgraceful visit made by a group promoting themselves as religious figures—people who have sold their consciences cheaply, and falsely wrapped themselves in the cloak of religion, only to stand before the leaders of the Zionist entity in a shameful scene.”

Ayad later accused the delegation of pushing a “false peace and a dialogue stained with the blood of innocents,” asserting that they speak of dialogue and coexistence with those who “know neither the philosophy of coexistence nor the language of dialogue.”

He further stated: “They repeat these empty slogans amid the rubble of homes, the bodies of children, and the cries of mothers in Gaza—Gaza, which has been facing extermination for nearly two years—without so much as a blink of an eye.”

Egypt has openly opposed Israel’s conduct in Gaza and is actively escalating its diplomatic efforts, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty engaging with Tunisia, Palestine, and the Czech Republic to discuss the state of the Gaza conflict.

Middle East Monitor, Maghrebi.org